Editing Queanbeyan (section)

== History ==
The first inhabitants of Queanbeyan were the Ngambri peoples of the [[Walgalu]] Nation. 

The town grew from a squattage held by ex-[[convict]] and inn keeper, Timothy Beard, on the banks of the [[Molonglo River]] in what is now [[Oaks Estate]]. The town centre of Queanbeyan is located on the [[Queanbeyan River]], a tributary of the [[Molonglo River]] and approximately {{Convert|1.4|km||abbr=}} south-southeast of Oaks Estate.

Queanbeyan was officially proclaimed a township in 1838 when the population was about 50. The local [[Queanbeyan Parish|parish]] was also known by that name and later still the member for the electorate of Queanbeyan held a seat in the legislative assembly of the colony of NSW. On 28 November 1837 the Colonial Secretary announced the appointment of Captain Alured Tasker Faunce as resident police magistrate at Queanbeyan. His homestead, called Dodsworth, was situated on the banks of the Queanbeyan river opposite the town.<ref>Errol Lea-Scarlet. Queanbeyan. District and People. Queanbeyan Municipal Council 1968 p27.</ref> The town plan was laid out by surveyor [[James Larmer]], in 1838.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2013-07-01|title=Queanbeyan's Timeline|url=https://queanbeyanmuseum.org.au/queanbeyans-timeline/|access-date=2020-07-14|website=Queanbeyan Museum|language=en}}</ref>

Traces of gold were discovered in 1851 and lead and silver mines also flourished briefly. Settlers were harassed by [[bushranger]]s, of which James Shaw, William Millet, and John Rueben,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2557117?searchTerm=queanbeyan |title=The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser Saturday 13 August 1842 |access-date=6 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206144736/http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2557117?searchTerm=queanbeyan |archive-date=6 December 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref> [[John Tennant (bushranger)|John Tennant]], [[William Westwood (bushranger)|Jacky Jacky]], [[Frank Gardiner]] and [[Ben Hall (bushranger)|Ben Hall]] were some of the more notorious. In 1836, a Post Office was established.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2203354?searchTerm=queanbeyan |title=The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser Tuesday 22 March 1836 |access-date=6 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206154623/http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2203354?searchTerm=queanbeyan |archive-date=6 December 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

The [[Commercial Banking Company of Sydney]] Limited (CBC, now part of the [[National Australia Bank]]) opened in Queanbeyan on 19 September 1859. The [[Westpac|Bank of New South Wales]] began service in Queanbeyan in 1878. ''The Golden Age'' (now ''[[The Queanbeyan Age]]'') was Queanbeyan's first newspaper and was founded in 1860 by [[John Gale (journalist)|John Gale]]. In 1880 the residence of John James Wright, the first mayor of Queanbeyan, was constructed along the edge of the Queanbeyan River. In 1982 that building became the Queanbeyan Art Centre.

The [[Salvation Army]] claimed an outpost in Queanbeyan in 1884.

Queanbeyan became an increasingly successful primary producing district, and was proclaimed a Municipality in February 1885 incorporating an area of {{convert|5700|acre|km2}}. The railway reached [[Queanbeyan railway station, New South Wales|Queanbeyan railway station]] in 1887 and it became the junction for the lines going to [[Canberra]] and [[Bombala]]. The town is served by the thrice-daily [[NSW TrainLink]] Xplorer service between Canberra and Sydney.

[[File:Queanbeyan river030.jpg|thumb|Bridge over the [[Queanbeyan River]]|left]]
[[William Farrer|William James Farrer]], the wheat experimentalist, established Queanbeyan's reputation as an agricultural district with his famous "Federation" rust-free strain, developed on his property ''"Lambrigg"'' at [[Tharwa]]. Farrer's work was only slowly recognised elsewhere in Australia, but local farmers supported him, particularly in his development of "Blount's Lambrigg", another strain which in 1889 gave hope to farmers after the disastrous season of 1887 when crops had failed after heavy Christmas rains.

At the height of its rural prosperity Queanbeyan boasted sixteen public houses and six flourmills powered by wind, water, horse and steam. The Royal Hotel on Monaro Street opened in 1926.  In Canberra alcohol was prohibited from 1911, at the time of the territory's foundation, until 1928, when Federal Parliament had relocated from Melbourne.  In that period many of the capital's residents crossed the border to drink at one of Queanbeyan's hotels.

Queanbeyan was granted city status on 7 July 1972. On 21 July 1975 the Queen's Bridge was opened. This bridge took pressure off the existing bridge in linking Monaro Street directly to the east. From 1982 to 1989, the [[Canberra Raiders]] [[rugby league]] team played their home games in Queanbeyan, at [[Seiffert Oval]].

Since December 2008, the Australian Defence Forces's HQ [[Joint Operations Command (Australia)|Joint Operations Command]] has been based adjacent to the [[Kowen]] district of the [[Australian Capital Territory]], just south of the [[Kings Highway, Australia|Kings Highway]], about 15&nbsp;km east of Queanbeyan, and 15&nbsp;km south of [[Bungendore, New South Wales]].